Friday, November 30, 2007

Hubby forgot to put corn in the stove last night--I figured it had enough to last the night. I was wrong. Three am, and I'm awake tending a fire in my jammies--freezing to death. And you can't just light a corn stove and leave it when it's "cold". You have to sit and watch and baby it to life, otherwise, it doesn't take, and you end up relighting...sometimes several times, while you sit and wait for it to begin to heat the house.

So I'm in front of the fire, crouched on my toes to see if it's lighting in the little window, and my dog runs past, chasing the cat, knocks over a lamp, crash, bang, and here comes my hubby saying "oh leave it, I'll put corn in it tonight". Uh, right sure. It should be clear to you by now that I'm NOT getting any further sleep tonight, and I'll be calling in to work JUST because you forgot to put corn in last night, (and you are a worthless piece of you-know-what just now, so just leave me alone in the cold) But he's of the sort that can sit down in a chair and fall asleep. ANYWHERE. Don't you hate people like that? I mean, I have to be comfortable, my pillow just right, my feet and head under the covers, the dog at my feet and the cat on my chest, before I can even think about sleep. Then Lunesta draws me into slumber. Medicated sleep. But if I get wakened--at any time during the hours of 8pm to 6am, for any reason--I am up. Very rarely do I get back to sleep.

I have to work today--it's not like I can take my mother to the eye doctor again today--

Well, the fires lit, and looks like it's going to hold. I'm going back to bed, so that I can lay there and think about how nice it would have been to get some of that sleep that Lunesta advertises. CYA!

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Hanged man upright means you're just "hanging about", not much going on, you're sort of "hung up" or "strung up" with the inability to go anywhere or get anything done. It also means "giving up" "letting go" and sacrificing one thing for the other, neither of which is good (which is called a paradox).

Reversed means I'm not thinking straight--head is stuck in the sand, stubbornness. A sort of tied to air and earth, but that I'll probably make the right choice and land on my feet yet again.

Because it's a major card, it has some meaning (mor so than one of the minor cards). The last couple of days have been major cards, and there's been no traumatic goings on--so I'm not sure what the deal is, except to say that the cards might be working heavily in the background, and either I'm not listening good enough, or people are keeping huge secrets from me.

I'm trying to apply for a new job. It's two levels from where I'm at now, but I've been at this level for 20 years, and I'm sick of it. I want something with a little more beef--don't get me wrong, I like my cushy little 7 to 4 job where I really have nothing for responsibility except to get the job done, but it gets old and boring after a week, let alone 20 years. Still, my current job is in an area that I can appreciate--being adopted and all that--but I'm seeing changes taking place in the unit that I don't agree with...the government spends too much money doing the Robin Hood thing--taking from the Middle Class and giving to the Poor, who refuse to go out and get a minimum wage job or sit around having babies. I think that my skills are best suited for fraud investigations and collections--and trying to get some of that money back. The new job would be responsible for that, plus a raft of other things..such as taking calls from irate people. I would have a staff (sort of, since they're starting the job out as a lead worker, rather than a supervisor, probably because they couldn't get the job classified as a supervisor due to budget constraints and the hiring freeze), who would take most of the calls, while sending the more involved and angry cases to me. I'm good at handling these types of people--I can be a master of subtrefuge--able to do one of those little political "side steps" from the "Best Little WhoreHouse in Texas"...hehe...but again, personnel likely won't give me the opportunity to try for the job, simply because I'm just not at the correct level, even though I should be.

So enough rant about that. Today, I'm taking my mother to her doctor appointment in Grand Rapids. She's getting lasix for her eyes today. She doesn't drive, so this is a big day off for me. I'm taking my knitting and my book, glasses and row counter. I am up to the armhole on the back, and abou 17 rows from the armhole on the first front. As expected this is going quickly, and could only have gone quicker if it had been on circulars, but since it's a 2 color vest, that wasn't an option. I'll post pictures tomorrow on my ravelry site...

In the meantime, I hope to do some grocery shopping and lots of knitting--I'm hoping to have the back finished today and perhaps most (if not all) of the front done, too. I'll get to visit with my son for a while, perhaps, and score some "good" points with God for being a good daughter. How much better can a day be.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

I can say this silly stuff because I'm alone in the house--if you don't count the dog, 2 cats and the 3 snakes.

So naturally, I go to the coffeemaker to pour my coffee, and...

There's only enough for one cup. Oh, I blew it this time. New coffeemaker, and I'm not quite used to it...so, I run a bit more water through.

I am up to the underarms on my son's sweater vest back. I have 51 rows done on the front.

And I drew Death for a Tarot Card today.

Now I realize that the Tarot supporters out there will say "This is just a card of "change"--an ending, and a beginning. Oh, talk about a positive SPIN on things.

Yes, it designates an ending, but the glass is not half full--it's EMPTY! Waiting for you to take it to the sink to draw more water, milk or beer . It's a wiped slate, a blank page, a finished book. It's over. The fat lady HAS SUNG! Okay, you get the picture.

Rarely does this card mean actual "death" ie, dying. I hope that my husband has his life insuranc paid up..No seer-iosly--it's doesn't mean death, so much as it means abrupt change--

Remember when, in the movies, if the fortune teller drew the Ace of spades, it meant you were going to die? The comparable card in the tarot deck is NOT DEATH, but the Ace of Swords, and this ace doesn't mean "death" either. It heralds the beginning of finding the truth about a matter, whatever that matter might be...and doggedly pursuing it.

But I didn't pull the Ace of Swords, I pulled Death. It designates riding out your fate...well, let's face it, we're all going to do that eventually--at one time or another, in one way or another, so what's the point? It could apply to all aspects of life, because that's what life is--a death here, a death there--change is inevitable, where ever life chooses to lie, so there too, will you find some sort of death of one kind or another.

Which I guess means we ought not to fear death (or change) since it's going to happen whether we want it to or not--it must, because life can't exist in a vacuum, and I don't mean your Kirby--I mean life can't exist in the absence of that which "gives" life, and in order for life to continue, something must change, or die, for new life to begin.

Such a way to begin my morning. I hope that hope stays with me while this change takes place an opens doors to new prospects.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

The Queen of Swords is ME, usually when I'm in one of these "moods", and it means that I'm probably going to chop off someone's head today. I envision her as the Marie Antoinette of the deck. Self assured, high-fallutin', get about town gal, with a temper as hot as a poker neatly plucked from the brimstone...oh yes, one hot head. This is no lady to mess with, because if you're good to her, she's good in return to the Nth degree. Treat her badly, and you will *rue the day* in capital letters!

Of course she's not always nasty--and in her "saner" times, she reflects on those closest to her who are no more (likely because of her last hot mood), and regrets, yes, she's made a few. So after the slate gets wiped clean, she weeps and mourns the loss.

Now naturally, since she's reversed, you might consider that those attributes might be "less so"--for instance, there might be an arguement ensue, and she doesn't get "all flamed up", but may decide never to talk to that person again--of course, it's probably someone she'll *have* to talk to again, so it's rather a tiff, instead of all out war.

I got the beads done on the shawl...oh, let me fix the pictures!!! There! Fait Acompli!

This is my best side. Actually, it has to be blocked, but for all intents and purposes, it's a done deal.

Oh, and the minute detail of the beads--these really shimmer, by the way.

It's really a lovely shawl.

I was in Walmart (you know, the Chinese store--SLAM) and I saw this sweater, with little peerie patterns in it. There are times, when I get ideas for my things from store items....

Once I took SEVERAL pictures of a purse that had been knitted. I have the picture on a cd. At some point, I will make this self-same bag. It's a knitted bag with cables on it--it's felted, and has a zipper and a liner. It was the same color as my red cable sweater. The perfect accessory, but rather than buy, I took pictures, so I can make my own. I do that a lot these days.

Then one night I'm outdoors, and there is the moon--big and full with a halo around it. I had to take several pictures, but finally got one that I liked.

Now doesn't this look like a Halloween Moon?

So I took this picture several times, once or twice as if it were a firework--which came out one little blob of white in the center (too long an exposure), and with available light (hah! Not much available light) and ended up with the Tree, which was also a cool picture which gave away how cold it was at the time, but I didn't want the TREE, I wanted the MOON. I finally set the camera on MUSEUM, quicker exposure and no flash, and got this, which is as close to the real thing as you can get! Hold on, I think I can get a picture of the tree...The moon is the bright banana shape in center right.

Well, it's actually time to get some work clothes on and head to the office. I am working on the front of the vest for my son now--this is going quickly. I stopped working on the back until my mother calls to tell me my son's measurement from his belt to his underarm. That dictates how long I have to work on 84 stitches. I'm getting about 4.5 stitches to the inch and 5.5 rows to the inch. It's going quickly!

Monday, November 26, 2007

I was a huge fan of Karen Carpenter. Huge. Same goes for Sonny & Cher, John Denver, and others of that era.

I cried when they died. Now, I know that Cher is still with us, but when she and Sonny divorced--that's the death I'm referring to--but there I go again--queen of digressions...

I really had a difficult time with Karen Carpenter. She represented my youth--when she was gone, they took away all the pretty music--you know, the feminine quality.Now everything is bump de bump and grind...enough to make a body puke--and "no way am I gonna try that" style of dancing.

To counteract this counter-element, I learned how to ballroom dance.

Now before you try to tell me that this style of dance is for the over 60 group--let me just say that some of the moves in ballroom are every bit as strenuous as the bump and grind, but done in a much more tasteful way. I mean ANYBODY can bump and grind--NOT everyone can ballroom dance and look really good at it. Me, I dance like a frog when I bump and grind, but when I ballroom, while I may not have the grace of Grace Kelly, I do have a certain style, and I learned very quickly to love ballroom dance. Now, I love to watch it on television. I enjoy watching "So You Think You Can Dance" type shows, and tell BritSpears that she isn't "all that and a bag of chips".

So there. Because *I* say so. And all those other "over 60-isms" that too many women say when they become their mothers.

Today's Tarot Card is "The Web" from the Sacred Circle deck. It corresponds with Justice in the Robin Wood deck, for those who like the "reference". It means that I've gotten myself tied up in a situation in which Justice will be meted out. This has concerned me all weekend, and I hope to high heaven that someone in security didn't see the email that I saw--you see, a friend sent me this email--to my work address. It was not an appropriate piece of email to send to my work address, and I've talked to the sender about those sorts of things. I hate to block her emails from my work address, but I will probably have to do it, simply to keep it from occurring again. This is a shame, because MOST of the time, her emails are funny and appropriate--and as far as emails go (or should I say, as raunchy as some may be), this one wasn't particularly HORRIBLE at least not to me, but the issue is WHERE I work--and there are likely some who would over-react. It's the over-reaction that I'm dreading. The over-reaction that could get me fired...which of course, I didn't CONSIDER when I copied the email to a word document and sent it home to myself...then realized that I had left it in my trash, as well as a copy of the word document in my sent items, which I TRASHED on Thursday night, and then deleted the trash and the sent items with it--hoping that no one had had the chance to peek at the server.

Now it's very unlikely that anybody copies the mail that closely, and it's most likely because the picture came through that the people who watch our web activity (ie, going to pornographic sites is strictly verbotten, and a site won't even load if the word "por*" exists somewhere on the page)--but this pic came through. It may be that it was considered innocuous--and to a mother, the pic is pretty adorable...the things kids get into...so now you pretty much know what the pic was--and so it's hard to tell my friend, but I did. She hasn't responded, but she may have sent an email to my work in apology. I will check for it. In the meantime, I have to sweat over what the fallout might be. I'm hoping there isn't any.

On the other hand, if I pulled the card reversed, it means that I'm worried about nothing.

On a good note, I have completed about 12-13" on the sweater vest back for my son's Christmas present. Now I have to wait for the measurement from hip bone to underarm--then I can complete the back, and know how many rows in the body of the sweater. I can take notes, and then repeat the process for the front. I'm starting to get excited. I could stop, but the back on a holder and start working on the front--now there's a good idea!

Sunday, November 25, 2007

I don't fall for those sales gimmicks. I did some shopping on Saturday, however. I looked everywhere for some bright green eyelash yarn. Something ala St. Patrick's Day for the tenor beaters.

I went to Walmart. I went to JoAnn's. I went to Michael's. I went to 3 LYS and to another Walmart. No bright Green Eyelash Yarn.

I checked online at Bernat's site for some to match the pink I purchased.

I came up empty.

I checked on Ravelry, but haven't gotten a response yet.

I'm thinking I'm not going to find it, but I will do a search for it again online today, and see if I can find it.

But first, I need coffee. Mounds of fresh, hot coffee. And then I can get to work.

I got about 40 rows done on the back half of my son's sweater vest--it's about 5" long so far. I have probably 10" to go before I can start shaping the armhole. The fabric is a little on the dense side, but that's the way I would rather it be for a winter garment! Gauge called for a size 6 US needle, rather than the 8 on the label--I might give him one of them BEFORE Christmas, just to gauge the size on him, but I'm working a 38, and his measurement said 36, so I figure I'm safe.

Hubby and I watched Shrek III last night on DVD, then watched Blue Collar Comedy on Direct TV Comedy channel. My husband likes Ron Waite. I like Jeff Foxworthy. Larry the CableGuy is funny, but I get tired of watching somebody play stupid after while. My husband giggled the entire time. He really understands these guys--maybe because he works with blue-collar folks all day? That could be.

We put Christmas lights up on the deck yesterday. They look so pretty--I bet they look spectacular from the road!

Doggie woke me up this morning, licking my hands and face, saying "I have to go out!" So out she went, and you KNOW that after I get up, I'm up. So the coffee is ready, and I'm drinking it now. I'm starting to feel alive again...the sensation is coming back to the fuzzy brain cells. But I'm still not ready to tackle the day...

Today's Tarot card is the 7 of cups. This card is thought to be a card that can indicate that the person is thinking "pie in the sky", fantasizing, can't decide on what he/she wants or just plain downright delusional. I'll have to decide which one it means for me...there are a couple of things I want to accomplish today...one, get the waterbed OUT of the big bedroom downstairs...two, sweep the floor (means picking up and putting away a TON of stuff. Then to take the bagged wool roving downstairs so it's not in my living room taking up space. I've got a lot of work to do today, and the card might be telling me "don't kid yourself". It is, after all, a billion trips up and down the stairs, and you've got this bad knee that's been giving you grief..so I could well be fooling myself that I will be able to get this accomplished today...but I will Try.

So that said, I'm going to gather my broom and my vacuum, and head downstairs. You might see me again next Christmas!

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Alas, I am to do these 3 sweater vests for my son--technically, I probably could do the front and backs on the knitting machine--but it's so darn hinky, that I don't like using it--even so, it would get the main part of the body done in lickety split time...

I can almost feel myself talking myself into this move, and I haven't even done a swatch yet! Oh, I am not up to pulling out that sweater machine!!! Don't make me! NOOOO!

Oh, I suppose I could test it out--I mean, I haven't used it in forever--no, I'm going to hand knit--at least the first one--since I'm none too keen on using the sweater machine, nor do I know where all the parts are--therefore, hand knit.

Have 5 rows into the ribbing now. Taking a break--I really don't care to work with black yarn, but, that's about all that goes with camouflage yarn!

Tarot Card for the day is the 5 of wands. Yup. Quarreling, argument and bicker..that sounds just like this household this afternoon. Hubby wants the heat on high, I want it on low...I want the waterbed taken out of my sewing room, he wants to leave it in there. I can't move around to clean down there, and so the wool stays in the living room. Viciousness behind every corner--I am tired, and want to rest now. Would have been a great day to work in the sewing room...but alas, twas not to be. Another day, perhaps tomorrow, but I will have to move the waterbed pieces into the other room, so that I can order the sewing room properly, not to mention sweep a floor that hasn't been swept in 3 or 4 years.

On the good side, he did help put up the Christmas lights. He did take down the bed, and he did clean up all the foreign mail on the floor around his easy chair. We are batting 500 so far. Things could be worse.

Bleary eyed before my coffee,, I can't see what I'm typing at all. So I'm going slowly so I don't confuse you!

Why doesn't my Border Collie like to go outside by herself?

Somebody answer that one for me. She always has to go on a leash to go to the bathroom--it's like she's afraid that something is going to "get her". Of course, the last two dogs I had, somebody stole, right off my property, so I'm a little afraid to put her on the chain outside, too. But it doesn't matter how badly she's got to go, she will not come to the door if she thinks that I'm not going out with her. And if I put her on the rope anyway, when she comes in, she curses me like you wouldn't believe (she's got quite a sailor's mouth, I can tell you!)

So, she's gone and done her thing now, cursed a blue streak at me, and settled down for her breakfast. After this, I'm going to knit the last couple of rows on the shawl, then do the i-cord edge. Then I'll get this cardboard box and make me a fringe maker--I'm thinking a 5" fringe--that means about 11" wide cardboard...hmmm...what do I have around here that's that big? Oh! Never mind the cardboard! I'll use my NIDDY-NODDY!

Okay, I hear you asking...what's a niddy noddy?

Here is what it looks like in 3 pieces. Made by Kromski in Poland.

Here's what it looks like put together. On this, you wrap yarn, so that your knitting doesn't get all knotty...get it? Knitting Knotty...which probably devolved into Niddy Noddy.

Then again, I could be WAY off base there, but it sure sounds Norwegian to me!

The white thing I take pics on is the top to the cat litter. I really need a bigger top, don't you think? LOL! The top to the cat litter! Unbelievable!

Guess what? I can see better now. The hearing hasn't woke up yet, but at least I can tell if I typed a typo or not! My body tends to waken in bits and pieces...

Tarot card for today is the 5 of swords...a fight, a tussle that I will not win. Ratz. I hate losing!

Thursday, November 22, 2007

"put away" in one way or another. Some in the tummy tum tum, and some in the frig for the rest of the weekend.

I've been working on the triangle mohair shawl, and I'm about 4 rows (whew! it's a long way across this loooooooonnnnnngggg row) to bind off, then put on a fringe, and she's done. I can't wait to put it on my shoulders. I haven't yet tossed aside the idea of beads on the fringe--I've done some macrame, and I'm thinking something in a pearlized black or even turquoise...It's warm on my lap, so it will keep my shoulders warm during the colder weather, which is coming on fast.

In fact, we had snow this morning. Evidence of the colder weather coming on it's heels. I wore open toed shoes to Thanksgiving dinner, and the heater just couldn't get hot enough in the car! LOL! Silly me...not much thought went into my choice of shoes this morning, did it?

So I draw the Page of Swords--entitled "Thought", and figure that I need to do some thinking/reflecting--Page of Swords is a good card to draw on Thanksgiving day, when folks need to consider and give thanks for that which has been afforded to them. But it's also indicating that there might be something in the wings that needs to be addressed--a problem that needs to be solved, an issue that needs to be faced head on, analyzed and logically examined. Okay, it's a three day weekend..what could possibly come about that would require that sort of effort??

Well, to be frank and honest, that sort of "thinking" gives me a headache--especially on a four day weekend when I should be enjoying myself and "playing the fool"..hehe I actually typed "playing the FOOD" just then--how appropriate on Thanksgiving Day, when there's more food than you can eat at 4 sittings, let alone one!

Forever. To this one person--until this one person decides HE doesn't wanna be no more--at least not to me. That's saying something for my committment and fortitude--

REAL fortitude, let me tell you...

But... I was propositioned yesterday.

WHAT!I don't get propositioned--I mean, I'm fat and ugly with buck teeth and a mole on my chin with hairs growing out of it--sort of ugly. The only thing going for ME is my personality, which can turn just as ugly as my face if I'm forced into a corner. Worse yet, I have big cold feet and knees--yes, you heard it here folks--I have cold knees. I climb in bed and cuddle, and my husband says

"oh, paybacks!"

sigh..married life, right?

What I can't figure out is where he got my email--oh, didn't I tell you? hahahahh! Silly me! Yeah, proposition via email.

Well, being the proverbial cat with curiosity, I went to this fellow's website--I possibly shouldn't admit to that here, but and here's a blog with a big old motorcycle on it, with a woman on the back--and I think--OH MY GOD! I've just been propositioned, via email, by a lesbian!

But, then I read the profile, okay--it SAYS it's a guy, but how do you know????? I mean HOW DO YOU REALLY KNOW?

But in the first place--why would I even CARE? Remember, I am a married person--but still, you know, curious...about how this person got my email, etc....

Then I got to thinking...

I gave my ex my email, long ago, when I tried to get him to join the bagpipe band and he's got a motorcycle...and the profile he gave sounds a lot like some of the things he would say, since he thinks he's God's gift--but you know what? My ex is married, too . So of course, you know that I had crazy dreams filled with all sorts of nuts--and I do mean nuts.

So if you're reading my blog, and my "profile", which is only in ONE place--I hope that I haven't offended you, but I am not interested--I was just curious for a minute. And if you're my ex, well, let's just say you can take a flying leap! Not only do I honor my own marriage, I also honor other women's marriages--which is more than I can say for YOU.

Now that's been said...I can continue...

It's been an odd day/night, and coffee tastes good, and my nerves are calming and I'm prepping for the day. The plan for the weekend is to knit. And other than visiting family, that's the entire plan. There may be some housecleaning . There may be some singing--after um, other xtra-curricular activities (no that was not a typo). So steer clear of my house, because I can't sing for anything. Frogs try to sing louder when they hear me sing. It's just not my thing, I suppose, but I digress way off the topic of this paragraph! LOL!

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Okay, the night before Thanksgiving, and the whole house smells tasty. I'm making the dessert for the party tomorrow for apres dine..I'm making a pumpkin pie cake

Now this is about the easiest to make.

First you make the pumpkin pie filling just like normal--dump into a big cake pan...top with yellow cake mix and 2 sticks of melted butter.

Bake until done.

It's fattening, and full of cholesterol. It tastes good, and that's why it's bad for you!

Okay, so why is it that everything that tastes good either gives you gas or some other ailment that ultimately you will die of if you overdo it?

So that's what I'm feeding to my in laws---he he he...evil scientist that I am.

I purchased a ball of sock yarn today. One of my co-workers totally ticked me off, and so I went out at lunchtime to buy comfort food (okay, so I came up with an original excuse, maybe?), and to stop at one of my favorite LYS's. She also had some lighted knitting needles, so I bought a pair in size 6.

Now where the heck do I post THESE on Ravelry!? There is no "other tools" option!

and no place to put the picture that I so pains-takingly took, standing still for 5 minutes to over-expose the lighted ends, so that they looked like they actually were "lit". Well, I just have to say pooh!

Also fondled some yarn oh so soft, what is it?

Pft. Cashmere. No wonder. Do I have good taste or what?

That cake is smelling really good....oh, poo. I forgot the whipped cream!

I wonder if Meijer's will be open tomorrow morning.

Well, for now, I'm off to work some more on my shawl...really getting some knitting done these last couple of days. L8r!

I pulled the 8 of wands today. It stands for taking action, and after yesterday, when I was so tired that I had to go home early to get some REST, now I have a little "catch up" to do before the holiday can begin.

I have to make a pumpkin dump cake.

So I'll be busy with not a lot of time to knit today!!!

It's raining, so I'll park in the lot across the street, and walk to work.

Knit Picks has a big sale on their sock yarns.

"Now you know it's Christmastime now, right? Your list gets longer by the minute! No more yarn until you've bought the gifts on your list..."

"Oh, but I'm sure they would just love that yarn."

"I'm thinking....no."

: "Oh, you are just no fun at all!"

So, no more yarn for me. For now.

Why do dogs decide they don't want to go potty after all the minute you open the door, and they see that it's raining? No matter how much my Border Collie is prancing about, crossing her legs and whining--put on the leash and she's jumping on the closed door, but OPEN the door, and all bets are off. She's straining to get back into the house. Now being wet isn't the most favorite thing, either for me or for the dog, but I take an umbrella--and I hold it over her...so she doesn't get as wet as she would without an umbrella. Me, I still get wet, but at least I don't smell like eau de chien lave...any idea what that smells like in bed? It is most certainly NOT a pheromone!

Well, I suppose that one will have to go in the annals of history of unanswered questions.

Time to prepare for my workday, such as it is...but first....TO RAVELRY!

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Okay, next project on the list to work on is the shawl that I started over a year ago from the New Style of Heirloom Knitting-a Japanese book that I use the charts to make the patterns, rather than the actual written word. Even so, the charts are pretty easy to follow--but you do have to know what the stitch charts mean.

The shawl is a part of the jacket on page 32 of the book. The yarn I'm using is a worsted weight mohair, but it's so hairy that you can't see the slight pattern. I'm hoping that once I block the shawl, it will open up the pattern.

We'll see.

I drew the 10 of cups today. Normally thought of as the "your wish comes true" card--but I couldn't determine what my "wish" was. I was so sleepy today, that I nearly fell asleep at my desk, and DID go home and sleep for 2 hours. Perhaps that's what I wished for? SLEEP? Well, I have to admit, I did get caught up on the sleep I lost last night.

Even so, I think that I would rather that my dog could talk human. Don't laugh--it might happen one day!

Two days before Turkey, and what do I do?I stop at the store and I bump into you.You've stolen my space and I find that I've gotNot another left to me, in this big parking lot.

I'm tired from running from this store to thatThe dinner list waits because YOU want to chatI haven't the time or the listening to spareFor I've shopping to do, well, as much as I dare.

So off to the line where a wizened old fartWon't let go the handle of the last little cartI haven't a cart or a tote or a purseJust my small wallet clutch, and as I start to curse...I find an idea, lodged up in my headWith the list ticking off, I begin with some dread,and hurry my feets to the back of the store,and I locate a cart, just a single, one more.

I grasp it with gusto, I head for the aislethe list keeps on ticking, and after a whileI find that it has it's own meter and rhymeSo I hunt down each aisle for the items in kind:

Here's pumpkin, here's apple, and blueberry tooFilling for pies, I've got baking to do!The pie crust, the bread loaf the season's and sageThe rest of the stuff from "The Turkey Prep Page",The taters the onions, and apple and panI'll get though Thanksgiving, yes, I think I can!

I stand in a line for an hour or soWaiting to checkout these items and GO.I pay for my things and they drop in the cart,And I speed down the breezeway and pass the old fart--Out of the store and I look for my carOh, there it is, by the road--not all that far!I run to the car, and I unlock the door, andI pack all the items in trunk and on floor.I climb in the seat and get ready to driveWhewing! And sighing--thank God I'm alive.

I drive my way home my order in tow,I park in my driveway, just rarin' to go.I unpack my sacks, and exclaim "Oh MY word!"I am so stupid.I forgot the BIRD!

Tenna

I hope your Thanksgiving is happy and loaded with good food, good people you love and more good times than your heart can bear!

Monday, November 19, 2007

My own little pattern! The gauntlet is crochet, just a bt of loop stitch and picots.

They fit like--well, a glove. Just the right # of stitches around, just the right # of rows long.

I can't believe they turned out so well, and I am very pleased with them.

Today's Tarot card was the 3 of pentacles--has to do with maintaining the team--we had a party today for the November birthdays. And I don't always partake of the cake, but this time I did--the cake was very good. I'm finding that I hate frosting more and more the older I get. I ended up wiping most of it off onto the plate to get to the REAL dessert!

Sunday, November 18, 2007

I didn't understand the draw of Ravelry. Now that I'm a member, I understand completely--well, at least better than I did several days ago.

The consummate center for bending the credit card for women who knit and crochet. If you are already at the top of your credit line, do NOT sign up for this....warning, warning, danger Will Robison...and I mean that with capital letters.

Now if you are able to control your urges and just look at people's creations without succumbing to the "where DID you find that pattern?" mentality, then this is the place for you. EYE CANDY lurks in every corner. A woman who knits can spend an entire WEEK shopping (can you say "shop til you drop?")...not only that, but the user can upload pictures (albeit the manner of upload is somewhat tedious--you have to upload to flickr.com, then TRANSFER the pictures to Ravelry...Flickr.com charges a fee if you go over their maximum allowance for uploads, so if you have a VERY large stash, with a large # of patterns, you might want to keep track of your stash and patterns on your own hard drives or cds instead..a rewritable cd and cd writer required.) of their stash and patterns, projects you're working on and those in the queque, track your needles and chat with other knitters/crafters or email them through the use of forums--rather than through yahoo groups. All in all, the be all and end all center for the knitter/crocheter.

Somewhere in the middle of my fun with this website, windows upload downloaded an update to my pc for my video display, and perhaps something else, because it totally ruined my experience with the forums, and with viewing pictures--or it could have been an upgrade to my accellerator, which lowers resolution of pictures to make websites load faster. One or the othere is responsible, but I am not sure yet--because by the time I finished finaggling with the computer, the day was over, I ached in every bone in my body from sitting at the pc all day, and fell fast asleep in my chair, having done NO KNITTING WHATSOEVER ON A DAY WHEN I SHOULD HAVE BEEN!

Thanks a lot Ravelry.

So today, I am going to force myself to stay away from Ravelry, and save the rest of my stash/project lists and queque entry for another weekend. I'm tired, and need rest...so imagine my surprise when I pulled the 4 of Swords. A picture of an effigy with 4 swords--3 on the base of the effigy and one hanging in the tree nearby. The meaning of the card is clear--GET SOME REST! So, even though I'm taking some time out to post here, I am later going to my in-laws for lunch. I get my best naps when I drive!

The mittens are coming along. I finally started on the second mitt, and it's now about half done. I should be able to finish the hand part today. Then I will work on the thumbs...then on the gauntlet. I have some very specific ideas on how I'm going to finish them off now, and I'm beginning to get excited about the prospect of finishing them.

I also drew out the Sharon Miller Princess Shawl that has been languishing as a WIP in my knitting closet for about 2 years now..I have perhaps 30 more points to go on the border, and I can start on the body of the shawl. This particular shawl is one of my more intense projects, and the border is no exception--made in fine THREAD, rather than yarn, the knitting of it is not what I call relaxing, but the OUTCOME is worth it, because the lace is just beautiful! I'm knitting it on size 1 circular inox needles--nice pointy needles, with only a bit of drag--and since they are circular, the weight of the project is in my lap, rather than on my hands/wrists. The project is posted to my project list on Ravelry. I have no idea if the general public can view my notebook, but if you can, my screen name is drapert.

In the meantime, enjoy your day, and I will post more later when I get home if I am not too late.

Friday, November 16, 2007

Okay, so it's not about UFO's--have I seen one? Maybe. Don't know. If I claim it's a UFO, then it's no longer a UFO--am I right? After all, I've identified it as a UFO...so now it's an IUFO, which is rather a contradiction in terms.

Sort of like the term infinity plus one.

The Tarot Card for the day is the 8 of Swords Reversed. Titled Bondage by the Sacred circle, Robin Wood shows a woman, wrapped up in a sheet, tied and blindfolded on a rocky beach, with 8 swords plunged into the earth behind her. Upright, not a very good card--meaning that you're basically "hemmed in" on all sides and won't be able to make any advancements today--however in reversed orientation, it means that the issues that were causing you to feel "hemmed in" are going to lift a bit today...and let's face it, IT'S FRIDAY!!!!

A rather simplistic reading, but I do look forward to Friday, and to the END of Friday, when I can look into the weekend and figure out what I want to do, instead of what everyone else wants me to do.

I got invited to Ravelry today. So I now have to sign up for a Flickr Account, as I didn't have one before. This blogging/ravelry/working on the band website/trying to get to my own website on geocities...is creating a web miasma for me...so I feel like I am surrounded on all sides by web-hosts and rather becoming my own little promoter. I don't know if I like that or not.

Does this mean that if computers are destroyed, and all my information on the web is lost, that I will cease to be? OOOO. Now there's a sci-fi thriller for you. Maybe I'll have Sandra Bullock to play my part in the movie.

So..off to Flickr I must go. Too bad I can't just ftp stuff over there. FTP makes it much easier.

Okay, Flick Account signed in. Ravelry ID is drapert--I am all set to go! This weekend, I upload pictures of my stash and my projects!

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Well, now that you've got a picture of me (buck teeth and all)...yes, I'm running a tad late (huff..puff). So this will be quick and dirty.

I've got the dreaded Mitten disease. I haven't knit for at least 3 days--although I did ply my spinning. I also notice that I'm over-spinning sometimes, and the single is all kinked up. I'm going to have to treadle slower, or draft faster--one or the other.

I have to replace a drum head on my son's drum--and I have been sort of putting that off for another day--when? Perhaps tonight when I get home. It will take the better part of an evening, which means I won't be able to knit or spin tonight.

The Tarot Card for the day is the Chariot.Usually, this card has something to do with cars...either buying a new one, or getting the old one fixed, and it's likely that I am going to get a call today about my car--I've got some repair work that's been waiting for the Body Shop Manager to get back from Medical leave. It could be just a reminder card for me to remember to call them. Either way, looks like I'll be taking my car in to get the body work done on it. It means I'll have to drive the loaner--yuck.

And I'm feeling a little like Alice's rabbit--stressed and on the run, also a chariot card expression...spinning your wheels and really getting nowhere. I've also got a dental appointment coming up later today, getting a tooth pulled (yuck again), and therefore may not feel like doing ANYTHING after work. We'll have to see.

So we'll see how the card ends up applying to me. It's pretty amazing. Yesterday, I pulled the sun card, and the day was beautiful, and I worked hard, got everything I wanted to do done, everything went bright and cheery, and it was just a happy day. And today, I draw the Chariot. It's just not fair.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Yesterday, our old coffeemaker was retired for the newer one with cool bells and whistles.

My husband said a few words, we unplugged the lifeline from the wall socket, and pushed it into the back corner. It will find its way to the garage sale bin today, I think. It's sad, though. The end of an era. The loss of a long-time friend, but it just wasn't doing the job anymore. It was tired and really old--and the water wasn't pouring through the filter very well anymore..not even with the cleaning solution! So the white Proctor Silex--and I don't believe they are made anymore, has been thrown over for a black Mr. Coffee with shiney silver chrome and a TIMER.

You heard that right. A timer! No more getting up with my husband at 4:30 in the morning to put coffee and water on--now I can do it the night before! And this new pup has an auto turn off for the two of us, who are horrible at remembering to shut it down. It has 2 brew strengths, regular and strong, because I am no lightweight when it comes to coffee. It has a cleaning feature and a "brew it now" feature and a pause feature, so you can get a cup without waiting for it to cycle.

I have to say, I'm in love. I called my husband into the kitchen to look at it when I attached it's umbilical cord to the wall....

"Darling, come here and look at the new coffeemaker!" I said.

After waiting patiently for five minutes, he appears in the doorway.

"What?" He says impatiently. "I'm watching my show...oh, new coffeemaker." He brightens a little, turns on his heels and heads back for his easy chair. My husband clearly doesn't understand the full impact of the moment! So I sigh, pat the new coffeemaker on the top of it's water reservoir, and walk over to my computer.

I can't wait to taste the new coffee I bought. Patience, dear, patience.

So this morning I am drinking a medium roast with caramel flavoring from Meijer's Thrifty Acres. I can't wait to get some hefty dark roast, and REALLY test this new contraption.

Did I knit last night? No. I have joined the league of web designers. Now, I know how to code in HTML, as long as there is something there initially--in reality, all you do is look for the real "words" and update them. I've offered to edit the Grand Rapids and District Pipe Band's website--and have updated the Member's Page and the Upcoming Events Page. It will be a while before I can get pictures to upload. And so I spent all day reconnoitering these two pages. The Member's Page was completly redone. She looks much cleaner now. The old editor, instead of using a table to enter information, used spaces--which works, but makes a mess of the html--all these ;ntsb's everywhere. I made a table and now the code looks a lot more readable, and the information is "up to the minute". Our next performances and practices, the where and when, are all loaded on the Upcoming Events page. Even a quick note about our 2008 Ceilidh, and a "Merry Christmas" at the bottom! Although, shouldn't it be Samhain? Whatever. The page looks good, the information is good, and I'm pleased.

The band manager wants a subpage with a login for the band members that has email address links that won't be available to the general public. Nice idea, but I have no idea how to set that up. So I have to speak with my "webpage gurus" to find out how that's done. I can build the form in visual basic, but the code behind it is beyond my understanding, and setting up the html behind that is even MORE beyond my understanding. I mean, I can link the button to the login form, but then once the user enters their information, the html has to know if that information is valid and what rights does that user have? Beyond that...do I even have a webpage guru? I'll have to think on that one.

The coffeemaker is empty and ready for tomorrow's brewing, and it's time for my shower!

Today's Tarot Card is the Sun. This means that the day will be bright and happy and everything will go well, right down to the last second. It means I slept really well last night (I did) and that there will be no problems. Basically, a sail right through it type of day.

Monday, November 12, 2007

In my last post, I told you that I had band practice, and that it was very likely not going to go well and end up being my fault, and it was. It isn't that I wasn't right on the money with my drumming, because I was--I think we're finding out that the drumming setting that I chose for a certain particular tune just isn't a good FIT--it doesn't really "sound" like it goes with the tunes we're playing. So now, I have to come up with something new.

This happens after 2 years of play, when the setting seemed to go along just fine...now it's having tempo problems. Again, it could have just been the day.

But the shock came at the business meeting we had.

The Drum Sergeant chose me to be Drum Corporal. Now keep in mind that I was HOPING beyond hope for Drum Sergeant, but knew that didn't happen at the Annual General Meeting last week--and realized that the Pipe Major didn't pick me again this year--even though I'm the one taking care of the drums, writing down the settings for the drummers, teaching the new people AND just starting running the website. I'm in this thing up to my neck from a drumming aspect, and since that's the consumate position of the Drum Sergeant, I figure that I've been doing it I should own it. But alas, such was not to be.

Even so Drum Corporal never occurred to me because the DS is so much "friendlier" with one of the other drummers in the corps--so it shocked me when she picked me. Even so, I suppose that loyalties exist, whether there are positions or not, right?

And so, this effectively puts me in charge when the DS can't make it (say to practice or a performance), and I get a pair of STRIPES for my uniform. I'm tickled, but I seriously have this "low in my belly" need to be DS.

Now it's got nothing to do with being the center of attention. It has EVERYTHING to do with my ex-husband (oh here we go again). How you ask?

Well, after he left me and got kicked out of the band we were in, I worked my collective off trying to get DS in that band. They wouldn't let me--thinking that I'm a control freak...which is true, but not so much that I'm hard to get along with (only my son will tell you differently)--but the Pipe Major (PM) wouldn't give it to me. His excuse was that I had a weak left hand...which was true enough--so I worked my left hand control on my sticking for months, and he still wouldn't give it to me, so I finally left the band--I was, after all, leading 2 bands at the time, and working hard, spending twice the time and effort on middle and west side of Michigan--while the DS for the west side band rarely ever made it to practice--and so I was working with these guys basically for no compensation whatsoever. After while, it got to me, and I resigned.

A few years later, I decided that I wanted to get back into the band, but they were loathe to do that (for obvious reasons, since I had taught the current DS how and what to play)...plus they had enough drummers...oh, but the band on the west side of the state needs drummers--I don't think they have any at all.

And so I became a drummer for the Grand Rapids and District Pipe Band.

Now, all during this life travel of MINE, my ex moves to Kalamazoo, joins the Kalamazoo pipe band, tells them a boat-load of lies, about how he's been DS in 3 different bands, played competition with the Denver Police etc etc, when he was never even lead drummer!!! Well, they made him DS, and all the corps resigned. He ended up playing by himself. Eventually, the PM removed him from his office, and now they have a corps of drummers most of whom I would bet my last dollar, came BACK from resigning under my ex-husband's rule.

What have I learned from this?

That my ex was a pompous pile of sheep dip---which reallly gives sheep dip a bad name, and that he has only ever wanted to be the center of attention, and didn't care if he was the only drummer in the corps. He was DS!!! He finally had the stripes....but you know, what good does it do to be "in charge" if you've got nobody to be "in charge of"?

And so I want those stripes..I want to come by them honestly--to be deserving of them--and I work my off to make sure that I'm next in line to get em. I want to be able to shove them in my ex's face, and say "SEE? I EARNED THESE. Not because I lied my way into them, not because I needed them because I feel so inferior without them or because I want to be the center of attention, but because I earned them. I have been working for something like 20 years for them, and by golly, I've got them--so eat sheep dip and die!"

Somehow, just saying all that here, feels really good. It makes me think that by accomplishing this feat, I will somehow be able to extract my ex from my thoughts and my life for good and for good riddance. I will finally take back the joy that I once knew when he and I were together in the band. When I have those stripes, and he finds out about it, he will be jealous--because he knows that he got his dishonestly, and he lost the position because of that...and because he chased the rest of the drummers out so that he could be the only one. It might be something akin to "keeping up with the Jones family", but the feeling only occurs when I'm actually THINKING about it. The rest of the time, I really don't care so much--I care more about whether the band sounds good or not as a collective.

And that might be why the DS chose me for DC--it could also mean that she wants to keep me from screwing it all up chasing after my heart's desire, but I can't think about that right now. If I were REALLY PARANOID...I could think another way. But at the moment, I need to feel happy that I'm DC, pleased (but pressured) that somebody chose me to be Treasurer--even though I didn't get the job and didn't expect to...knowing that Ray nominated me for the position. He believes that "he who controls the checkbook has the power in the band..." My answer to that is that yes there are some bands like that, but GR&DPB isn't like that.

So all that said, I see myself working toward a goal--sometimes it seems more like a rainbow. The goal isn't just my own goal, but the goal of the band. If I can succeed in my own goals, can I bring the band's goals to fruition at the same time? I'm a talented person, but do I have what it takes to go the extra mile to WIN IT ALL? Or is it supposed to be enough to own the talent, to be confident in that talent, and make it go well enough to make it count. Should I even be putting that much pressure on myself...might I buckle under the strain? Do I have what it takes to be a leader?

Sunday, November 11, 2007

I am awake for the second time on Sunday morning. My first wake-up was at 1am, and I worked some more on my Latvian Mitten. I have finished the "hand", now have to work on the thumb and gusset--which isn't going to be easy, since I'm using Lion Brand "Woolease" and size 6 needles--I have to do some fiddling with the pattern, and will have to write it all down--and so I've come to the conclusion that I'm going to have to work the other "hand" first, and leave the thumbs for when I can concentrate better.

However, my second waking-up was at 7am, and now I'm pretty much ready to face the day. Funny how coffee can help with that, but it's true. Showing you what I worked on all day yesterday....

Yes, I got 3 rooms done! And then, I drove to McDonalds for lunch (yes, all that before lunch, and lest you think "ho ho ho, what is 3 rooms?", praps I should show you the BEFORE picture next time... The areas I show you above are the areas that get "dropped on"...the clutter catchers.

After McD's, drove to the video store to drop off the video...then to Lowe's to return some pvc pipe and fittings (yes, all that time, I was driving about with 2 16' lengths of pvc sticking out my back window!), then to Walmart for some staples for the staple gun and some drugs for my hubby, then to the LYS

HOLD IT...STOP RIGHT THERE.

I had a gift certificate. They had new sock yarn. I had to have some. I also wanted the book "Simply Shetland 4", because I want to make Eunny Jang's scoop neck sweater...decisions...decisions...okay, bought both.

Then I went to the health food store and got a couple of items, then I returned home and worked on my mitt.

So I didn't actually work as hard as I thought I would, or for as long, but I did get a LOT accomplished. I even finished the antique coat hanger/shelf that I got several months ago. I can't wait to put it on the wall!

Oh dear.

The coffeemaker is plugged again.

This is cause for ALARM. It took 20 minutes to brew this pot--when it should only take about 5 minutes. But the coffee IS made, and I can now enjoy my first morning cup of brew. Yum.

Do you notice how thoughts are pretty disjointed before my first cup?

Daily Tarot Card is the Page of Wands reversed. In it's upright position the card indicates that whatever you do today your effort will show great potential. But since it's reversed, you can almost bet that things aren't going to go so well in that respect--because today, I have band practice. Now lest you believe that I'm going to "self-fulfill" that prophecy, let me tell you that I do work very hard with this band--far more than I did with my previous band--and the idea that I might not be recognised for my effort is depressing.

Then again, it might not be me at all, but my son, who is still slightly "shakey", but is coming along. We couldn't have a practice this week because it's getting too cold to play outdoors--and he's got no "place" indoors where we can practice yet. Until he does, we can't practice mid-week. This could upset the apple cart easily.

But, sadly, I pull a clarification card to find out if it's me or if it's him, and it's me--I pull a queen--the queen of wands, to be precise, and she is also in reversed position...she stands for the crafty and sly--the revealer. She's reversed, so it means that I'll be pretty much useless today, and not much good will come of heading to band practice. Oh, this is really discouraging! I guess it's a good thing I have Monday off!

I've decided I'm going to buy a new coffeemaker--one that has a clock on it so that it will turn itself on at the appropriate hour--so that we can have fresh coffee every morning.

And it's misty outdoors again--perfect Scotland weather--except I live in the US. The dog refuses to go potty when the weather is the slightest bit wet. But let her run to the neighbor's house, and she's in their pond labrador-style! She's cold, and antsy to get back into the house where it's warm. She danced around in eager anticipation of getting back into bed with my husband.

The day progresses, and the first cup is nearly drained. What will I do this morning before Ray arrives, and we head to band practice? It's already 8am. I have only three hours before we leave. I'm tempted to cast on that second mitt--then again, no. I just don't feel much like knitting (or working for that matter). This is called One-Mitt-Disease. Sounds dreadful, doesn't it? I could go buy that new coffeemaker, but I seem to have no ambition this morning. In fact, I feel like I should go back to bed and pull the covers over my head for about 2 1/2 more hours. Yes, that's exactly how I feel--go join dog and husband. It would seem that they have more "smarts" than I do at the moment.

Saturday, November 10, 2007

What in the world am I doing awake at this hour on a SATURDAY? You ask.

Enjoying a hot cup of chocolate flavored coffee, writing this stuff down, and thinking "can life get any better than this?"

I had this kink in my neck for two days. Yesterday, it was painful enough to give me a migraine. I decided to head to the chiropractor.

I know, I know, you shake your head and think, just take an aspirin--which I did--actually, I took 2 Advil at 10 and 2 Bayer Back N Body at 12. All it did was make me feel nauseaous. I slept most of the day on Thursday, unable to get rid of the kink OR the migraine. Yes, friends, my neck was severely out of alignment. But there are folks out there who don't believe in the benefit of chiropractic--and I am here to tell you, that this stuff works.

The chiro worked on my neck for about 5 minutes, and when I got up, I felt like a new woman. A new woman who didn't have a migraine anymore. There is still a little muscle stiffness, which is easily alleviated with Advil, but it's a muscle pain that I can live with--in short it isn't screwing up my face in agony--like it was on Friday. I feel like I can tackle this house with one hand tied behind my back...and I will forego the bondage part, just so I can get done quicker to work on my mittens.

They are coming along nicely. I worked on them while I visited with Judy Draper (aka mom Draper) during her dinner hour yesterday, and then worked on them some more when I got home while I watched "Ghost Whisperers". It has become somewhat of a "boring knit", even though it's a pattern I made up in my own head, and I'm sort of "winging it"--I think I'd rather be knitting some socks--or maybe even a sweater! But I'm pretty close to finishing the first one--I've only got 2" left--I figure I'll do one more pattern repeat, then I will begin my decreases. It took a lot less yarn than I thought it would--less even than a pair of SOCKS! And that's saying something--but I think I will be happy wearing them. The cuff is too short, so I'm going to make a gauntlet out of crochet--that will go under my coat sleeve. I was a little worried that they would be too small, but I tried them on, and they fit me like...well, like a glove--except for they are mittens. So that's the plan for later.

Hubby is going to assist his friend in selling the business he runs, so I will be pretty much on my own all day today--which means I should be able to get a lot accompished today. Ever notice how much more efficient you are when there's no one else underfoot? I used to tell my first husband to take the baby (who is almost 30 now), and go see his mother--so that I could clean house. I would do laundry, dishes, floors, dusting, clean the cat box, let the dog out, feed the animals, go buy groceries and have dinner on the stove by the time he got home about 6 hours later.

Of course, 30 years on a body slows it down some, but coffee helps!

Today's Tarot card is the 10 of wands, and this is the "work hard" card, but it's reversed, which means that I won't have to work nearly so hard to get so much done--or maybe that I won't work as hard as I THINK I will--or maybe I'll start and not "finish", but you know, my attitude is that housework is never really finished, so why TRY? I'm the consumate housework hater, anyway, and even though I'm now working on my second cup of coffee, I'm just not quite ready to begin. I like to save these things for times when I have a ton of ambition--today is just not it! I mean, I know that it has to be done, and I know that I will likely get quite a bit accomplished, but do I really want to waste my time that way?

But can you believe, that out of 72 cards--this is the one I would pull for my daily card, on a day that I generally reserve as a "work inside the house" day? Or that it would so closely approximate what the actual day will likely involve? I think it's just amazing. Maybe I should do Tarot readings on here...don't laugh--STOP LAUGHING! I have done long-distance reading before--read the blog entry on Robert! You know, there are people on the web who do this sort of thing for MONEY? Where's my crystal ball?

I look at my "ability" ("gift" if you prefer the word) as something to share--it came to me free--it's not something I went to school to learn--hence the word "gift"--therefore, I think it's something to be shared, not something someone should have to pay for--and I can't see myself making money off of it for just those reasons--I think that accepting money would somehow "cheapen" it--and therefore make it so that it didn't work the way it should...and that's why I call it an "ability"...much like walking, or even blinking. I don't "think" about it--very often, it just happens.

For instance, long ago, when I was a teenager (back when rocks were just on the cusp of invention), I read a book on the paranormal--so, when the sun set, and darkness fell in my room, I lit a candle, knelt beside my bed, shuffling an ordinary deck of 52 playing cards, and said to myself in my mind..

"I'm going to count 13 cards from the deck. I'm going to divine red or black, and put them in two piles, one for red, one for black, and then I'm going to record how many I get right."

So I count off 13 cards from the top of the shuffled deck. Now 13 is supposed to be somehow associated with the paranormal--but I didn't do 13 for that reason--the deck is normally 13 cards per suit--and I figured that this was a test of the entire deck, and so I began.

I went slowly, holding my hand over each card before placing it face down in the pile that I thought it should go into. When I was finished, I checked the piles. The red pile was 100% correct. The black pile had one red card in it. Well, alright. I recorded my results.

I decided to test myself further. With the remaining 39 cards...

"I'm going to count 13 cards from the deck. I'm going to divine Diamonds, Hearts, Clubs and Spades, and put them in four piles this time--"

I didn't do so well this time, and only got about half of the cards right--even so, by the paranormal "experts" 25% was considered above average--

I decided to test myself further. With the remaining 26 cards...

"I'm going to count 13 cards frm the deck. I'm going to divine the number on the card, and write it down on paper, then I will compare the cards to what I've written down."

I got them all wrong.

Actually, that's not a fair statement. I was just one card off. The FIRST card was totally wrong, but the second card was written in position one on my piece of paper...and so on down the line.

Well, I have to tell you, that one sort of left me with this odd sensation, and I remember looking at the candle just then, and the flame flickered violently right then, as if a sudden draft had come into the room, but I was not cold, the door was closed, and the house was not drafty--nor was I anywhere near a furnace vent (which wasn't running that day anyhow), and we didn't have air conditioning, and the windows were closed. It was a relatively mild autumn evening.

Well, I have to tell you, I blew out the candle, turned on the lights, put the cards away, hugged myself for a minute (gotta tell ya, I was SPOOKED!), then I walked out into the living room, sat down and watched television to get my mind off it. The next day, I returned the paranormal book, and refused to do any further divination. Not because of some religious aspect--because I wasn't AWARE of religion at this point--my parents took me to church only twice in my life when I was VERY young (back when dirt was only a gleam in it's mother's eye), and therefore, religion really didn't play a part in my decision--it was just that it really unsettled me.

There was/IS something "out there". Something we don't understand, and probably something that we aren't supposed to understand--maybe something we will never understand--"out there". It is what I call "other-worldly". Sometimes good, sometimes not--depending on your perception--and possibly whether or not "it" perceives which will do it the most "good". It's not something that can be "controlled", although others would have you believe it can be. It is a force that is likely closer to nature than you are. It gives me pause to consider the beliefs of the Celts and the Druids--the Scots and the Irish--where my blood roots are--and while I am not a student of either of these teachings, I am AWARE of them, and recognise them as mostly mythological. But the Celtic/Druid people BELIEVED in these things, deeply--before the Catholic church came in and brought it's own belief system.

Don't get me wrong. I think faith is a marvelous thing. Personally, I believe the teaching of the Baptists--which is based on the Catholic, but steers itself away from all of the symbolism and the mythological systems of history--to follow a more "intellectual" path, based on learning from the mistakes others made in history. I think the Crusades were based on a pursuit of property and grounded in the greed of the historical "church"--and that this same greed does exist today--although at a much lower level--you don't lose your life because of what you do or don't believe in--someday, that MAY CHANGE. I believe that there is more to a person than just a body and brain--more than just a pretty face (okay, mine's not so pretty, but you get the picture). I believe that everyone has their own personal path, and that no one can tell you what that path may be. I don't believe that atheists have it right, nor do I believe that the church has it right, nor do I believe that the agnostics have it right. I think we're all like the 4 blind men set upon determining what an elephant is. Whatever "IT" is, it is BIGGER than us--bigger than we can conceive or imagine.

In the play "Our Town", Rebecca states that she saw a letter addressed to someone--it had the normal "stuff" on it...Name, Street, City, State, Zip, but then it went on to say "USA, North America, The Earth, The Universe, THE MIND OF GOD".

How profound is that?

Tenna has had too much coffee.

Sorry to be so long winded. Many people suppose that I am a religious nut. I just wanted to take the time to give an indication to what I specifically "believe", without sounding like a religious nut. As I said, I don't follow any particular "religion". I believe what I believe--I try to share it when I can. I don't push it on you, I don't want you pushing yours on me--any more than I would tell you "this path is better or more 'right' than your path". Your path is your path. Right or wrong, good or bad, it's still YOUR CHOICE to follow it. If YOU determine that it's the wrong path, you will make choices to change your direction, or choose to make no choice and continue down the same road, whether it's in your best interests or not, or maybe just to "check out what's further on down that road". In the final analysis, we all will give an account of the road we followed. THAT is what I believe, and I think that most of us will have a few regrets--I mean, WHO DIES HAPPY?

Friday, November 9, 2007

Still suffering the effects from the kink in my neck, but I get out of bed anyway--a sucker for punishment. Drinking my coffee, I pull my daily card, and it's

The Fool

Well, I suppose I could go back to bed. God knows I don't need to make more of a fool of myself than I already do. Imagine, if you will, the court jester playing a merry tune on a small flute, and a bird flies by, and while he watches the bird overhead, he's stepping lightly, and doesn't see the precipice that he's about to fall from. A little dog jumping merrily at his feet. This card literally says "WATCH OUT!" or at the very least "you're heading in the wrong direction...go back...go back!"

Like I said, stay in bed.

On a good note, hubby and I watched "Wild Hogs" on DVD last night, and I got the last two covers done for the tenor sticks. Here's what they look like before I draw them up and sew them together...

Thursday, November 8, 2007

I went home with a kink in my neck, a hitch in my wiggle (actually more like sciatica), and a gimp in my knee--which has actually been bothering me now for a week...three pains, three swords....Get the picture? Of course, it could be that I'm just old and the body is falling apart, and the 3 of swords has nothing to do with it, so why did it take 2 Advil, 2 Bayer Back and Body, 3 hours of sleep, and the pain STILL isn't gone?

Okay, enough said. I'm just a pain.

Which got me to remembering something that happened a long while ago, and I thought, Hey! Blog fodder! It happened when I first started reading Tarot cards--well, that's sort of a lie, because things like this have happened all of my silly life, but I digress.

I've always seemed to have this "connection" to something that I didn't understand, that I didn't WANT to understand, didn't NEED to understand, didn't even CARE to understand, but one night, I realized that the "oddity" of Me needed to be understood at some level, or I wouldn't be Me anymore. It was a sort of epiphany of sorts. And here's how it happened.

I met this guy online.

Now lest ye think that I was just trolling for a new flame, let me tell you that in the course of five minutes, I knew this guy was a whole lot younger than me, and really superstitious! Chatting with him easily and probably a lot more intimately than he would like (as I said, I'd only chatted with him for 5 minutes, and we were already "friendly", and chatting as if we'd known each other for years, and NO, this was not a cyber-encounter)--he asked me if my name was Lisa. To which I said "no". He kept asking me, and finally I said "names not Lisa, my name is Julie". To which he promptly said "hello, Julie".

Now, we both know that my name isn't Julie at all, but some of us who were born of this era, would remember the song "I'm not Lisa....my name is Julie"...and he was oblivious to this, therefore, my determination that he was MUCH younger than me. He asked me a dozen or so questions, to which I answered no to every one. Of course, HE'S operating on the idea that I've lied to him, and that my name is Lisa after all--apparently someone he was having difficulty "shaking" from a recent stalking encounter...but eventually, I asked him if he was a psychic. To this, he answered an emphatic NO! And I responded "good, because you SUCK at it really bad!"

That's when he asked me if *I* was psychic. I thought about it a second...and answered "yes".

Well, how could he really know anyway, right?

So he asked me to tell him what his name was.

Oh, now, here is where it gets good, folks...how to tell someone you've never met what their name is! I realized I had about as much chance of guessing his name as I did foretelling the next 6 numbers on the Lottery, but I closed my eyes, and asked the Ether--what was this guy's name?

And I listened for the answer.

And he typed...

:"well?":"You don't know, do you!?":"You're not psychic at all."

I swear to you, I was not expecting it, but I literally "HEARD"

"Robert, John"

Now how can you go wrong with John, right?

Instead, I chose Robert. I will never understand WHY I chose Robert as the answer, but I did.

And the answer was right.

Yes, friends, you're talking to a bonafide, I can't believe I guessed it on one try, psychic!

He was quite astounded, and flabberghasted. He was now CERTAIN that I was Lisa, and that there was nothing quite as unsettling as this. He asked me to tell him his middle name. Of course, by this time, I had a clear idea of what he looked like, and an even clearer idea of where he lived (because he'd told me that he lived in California), and even though I'd never seen him, I knew that he was not from California. It was not because of his english, either. He was well spoken, typed the language VERY well with minimal typos, and learned/scholarly. But I knew that he was not originally from the USA, and told him so. He wanted me to tell him where he was from. And I said "You're dark complected--dark hair and eyes--thin, long fingers....you're in California, so my best guesses would be Mexico or Hawaii." Then I added, "you do not look like your father, who has hard hands, the hands of a farmer or gardener." "And further, I can't tell you what your middle name is, because you are not originally from the USA, and you have a very ethnic middle name."

To all this, he was astonished, because every word was true. He was amazed that I KNEW that he was not from the USA originally, but even more so that I mentioned Hawaii--which he claimed his GIRLFRIEND was from there, and that he'd lived in Hawaii most of his life. Still Hawaii, IS in the USA, and I told him "but you are NOT Hawaiian", and he said that he was not. He finally told me that he was from the Phillipines, and wanted me to tell him his middle name.

Two days later, I'm asking "the ether" again, this time in my car as I'm tooling down the highway..."what's his middle name?"

A picture formulated in my mind...that of an old flame--(well, he was MY old flame, but it was one-sided)--his initials were "RZ".

Now, I don't know...maybe my hearing is bad...but RZJohn...it didn't make any sense...

Until he finally told me his middle name...Arzadon.

I believed him instantly, and told him what had happend in my car. He didn't believe a word of it, and called me a "cold reader". I felt like I'd been slapped in the face. He asked me to read tarot for him...so I did. He asked about his job, and he asked about this girlfriend in Hawaii...I told him that his work was noticed by others, but that he still had much to learn before he could take off on his own, and that the "girlfriend" would break his heart--and then told him that ANOTHER woman he was involved with would ultimately tell him that she was not interested in a permanent relationship. Something he had not revealed to me was that he was dating someone who had been his teacher in school--so he was surprised that I would reveal this to him from a card reading.

I asked him what he did for a living, and he told me that he was in the entertainment industry, but that he didn't like the people. He told me he was an artist, and showed me some of his work--really impressive stuff. He told me that he was followed by a doppleganger. I asked him what that was--really odd sounding. He told me to google it, and so I did. It was what ghost hunters would call a disembodied spirit--that could perform full-bodied apparition(s). The whole idea of it unsettled me. I've been exposed to things like that, and it's not a comfortable feeling. He told me about how this "doppleganger" attacked him when he was a young child. Well, I can't think of anything more frightening than that! Had I been more of a psychoanalyst at the time, I would have told him what it was, but hoped to keep the fragile relationship online...in short, I figured him to be somewhat of a nut, but he was very superstitious--a throwback to his Phillipino heritage, I suppose.

At some point, Robert Arzadon Ramos and I lost touch with each other. I was a little dismayed by this. He was an interesting fellow. An artistic talent the likes of which I'll probably never see again, coupled with a psychic connection that will probably always be. My last reading for him said that he would return to the Phillipines and to his family eventually, something he swore that he would never do; however, his disappearance from the internet tells me differently.

And so, the login "TSOLOS", read backward "So Lost", rings a rather true note for my "lost friend"...sometimes somber, sometimes a bit immature, like a child lost in a dream, and other times, just lost to me.

So if you know Robert Ramos--or his professional name Robert Arzadon, tell him that GlowBidie still thinks about him now and then. Thanks.

Yes! My second cup of coffee. I've been awake since 3:30am, although I didn't actually STAY out of bed until about 5:15am, and now, it's 5:51am--I'm on my second cup of Folger's coffee. My dog, Mandy, decided that it was time to chase all the cats out of the bedroom at 3:30, and then decided it was as good a time as any to ask to be let outdoors.

I don't know about you, but her fur coat seems much more applicable to late autumn windy, wet weather--and me in a mid thigh nightgown and bare feet. But once I let her out, I pulled the covers over my head and fell fast asleep again--that is, until she started howling about 5:15.

Goofy dog.

Tarot card of the day, good grief, another 3 of swords. Titled discord in the Celtic Circle deck, Robin Wood depicts it with one heart stabbed through with 3 swords. Usually for me, it bodes some sort of heartbreak. It signals tears will be shed. At it's very worst, it can mean a breakup with someone you love. At it's least, an argument with someone close that you care about--a family member or your best friend.

Not a good card at all for a Thursday morning.

The workers got the facia on the house, but apparently forgot to put holes in the soffit. Houses have to be able to breathe...so under the soffit, the crews drill holes to allow air to circulate. A house that is too tight will trap steam and wetness and create mold. Mold in your house can make you very sick. The extra air deters mold from growing. I would think it would allow heat to escape--but what do I know?

So, Hubby contacted the workers, told them that he would pay for the repair if they could prove that they DID put the holes in, but he's pretty sure they didn't...so the facia isn't yet finished...but I took some pictures anyway. Sorry for the grey day--it doesn't make for "pretty" pictures, but it's DARK when I leave in the morning now.

We've also finally lit the fireplace. We normally wait until November 1, but this year, we didn't light the stove until November 5th. The first night, it didn't work. It wouldn't light. And it was COLD that night!

We cleaned it out and got it working on the 6th. Hubby was a mess, and I wish I had a picture of him--all covered with soot from his head to his foot...had he a red suit on...oh, never mind...he was on his way to the shower, and quite X-rated.

Probably most of you didn't know, but I have snakes, and they are about as "fun" as snakes CAN be--which isn't much, but yesterday, my Honduran, who is quite large now, tried to catch a live white mouse, and ended up frustrated and hungry under her hide. So I gave the mouse to my Boa Constrictor. This white mouse must be a veritable Houdini, because he is still alive today to tell the tale.

Amazing. Pictures of my snakes another day.

Last night, Hubby and I watched Spiderman 3 on video. We both critiqued it to be not nearly as good as the first two Spiderman videos, so I will buy the DVD for my collection, just in case there's a Spiderman 4. It's been a long time since we watched a video--tonight, we're watching "Wild Hoggs" with Tim Allen in it.

It is now 6:10am. I have to get dressed to go to work again, but this time, I remembered to put my knitting needles in my bag, so I will get some more knitting done on those socks for the tenor beaters. I walk out the door; however, slightly under-dressed for the weather, so came back in and bundled up some more. It is blowing snow outside. I look like Kenny from Southpark!

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Well, not "finished" per se...I have gotte 2 covers done of the 4 that I need for the tenor drum sticks for the band. Here's a pic:

First, the empty tenor stick:

Then the stick and the sock for it:

And now, the sock on the stick.

Cool Huh? Now imagine this little item on a shoelace, swinging around in the air? There ya go--no I won't demonstrate! I'm still in my jammies!

So lest you think I accomplished nothing yesterday...HA! At lunchtime (the day I was so stuck), I drove over to the LYS and found a new book (well new for me) and the latest Interweave Knits magazine. I tend to pull the most difficult assignments for myself because I like to challenge myself. The book is Alice Starmore's Celtic Collection--now in reprint. The projects in there are JUST AMAZING. I don't think that I could find better words to describe it. Knitting beyond the Hebrides knitting group does her patterns over and over again--and they are remarkable! Because they are fair isle and cables, very often, these top knotch knitters will knit the same pattern over and over again, because they are just, quite simply, classic designs. Interweave Knits had lots of nice eye candy, and quite a few projects that I would like to put on my list of to do's, but I am a realist, and know that there is not enough time left in my life to do all these projects that I have planned for myself.

Today's card is the four of pentacles:

This card generally pops up when I need to think "charitably". Give out directions, give to a charity--either by money or sweat, or just "be there" for a friend. The picture is that of a man, sitting in the corner of his castle with his feet on two coins, one in his hand and one on his head. Generally, it means I'm being a tad miserly--thinking too much about money, or hoarding it. It's long since past time to think about making gifts for Christmas, and I am waiting for Thanksgiving for when we draw names for my hubby's family--so I know that something will pop up today, where I will be asked to go over and above, without a grimace. My mother and son are easy this year. She wants more cross stitch books, and he wants a bike. Imagine that, my son, almost 30 years old, and he wants a bike for Christmas...seems like I've heard that story before...

So, I am up and blogging at 4am. Drinking my coffee, and planning my Christmas, when I really should be thinking about Thanksgiving...when really I should be planning TODAY. I figure that I need to do 2 more of the little pink covers--they don't take much time. Then I can get back to knitting on my Latvian Mittens. I actually started a pattern of my own. It's not really "Latvian" but here it is the beginning of it anyway. I'm sure I'm knitting it too tight, but since it's likely not going on anyone's hands, let alone MINE, I suppose I can put up with a little bit of tightness.

Well, time for my shower. I do have to work for a living. It really gets in the way of my LIFE, though.

I did go to bed early, however, because I had a massive headache all day that just wouldn't quit!

Here’s a fellow, looking out over the waterway (could be a large lake, small ocean, or just a wide river), which appears to be a haven for vacationers (sailboats and canoes), but also a method of commerce and trade (ferry and tug). He, of course, is on shore. I think he missed the boat, frankly, and now he’s watching it “pass on to bigger waters”. The card actually means thinking ahead—or having foresight. It stands for leadership and being in for the long haul. It could also mean a trip over water.

OH! I’m going on a cruise? Fat chance that will happen!

Of course, you might know, I pulled the card in reversed position, which means I’m feeling a little stuck—and this is true. Stuck on land, unable to fly. I don’t seem to be able to get anywhere these last couple of weeks. Even sock knitting has become something of a chore. The only GOOD thing about this feeling is that once it hits bottom, there is only one direction left to go—up.

All I can think of is Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), because it makes you…well…SAD! It happens to folks like me in the North country—the sky goes a little grayer every day, there’s snow (four letter word) in the forecast—or worse, snow showers, and it gets colder every day. Winter is my least favorite time of year. Actually, I don’t like either of the extremes in Michigan. I like spring for the green grass and new leaves on the trees. I like autumn for the colorful maple trees. But once the leaves have hit the ground, it seems like I hit the ground too.

So, I need to come up with hints of something new to do that will make my whole outlook sparkle. I’ve already done my coif and had a manicure. A pedicure sounds good, but I wonder if I have enough in my budget to allow it. There I go…the “but” queen! I could head over to the coffeeshop and have another of those wonderful cups of coffee with caramel and white chocolate, like I had yesterday. That was a wonderful change of pace, and tasty too! And as much as I’d like to do that, I don’t want to do it again TODAY. Maybe that can be a Friday treat.

This morning, I parked in the lot beside where I work, and I might take it at lunch time and just go somewhere, but WHERE I’ll go, well, that’s another story. When I get in this “blue funk”, even shopping for yarn doesn’t help. It’s like I’ve overloaded on life, and now, I’m coming down the other side of the hill. A change of pace and direction is needed, but I’m so stuck, I have no idea which way to go. Up is the only way that sounds good.

Can I blame this on my ex-husband? Yes, I can! Later in the afternoon, I decided to head over to the nursing home to see my ex-mother-in-law—it has, after all, been over a week since I last went to see her. He had spirited her away for a couple of days. Well, at least she gets to see her cat, and I’m glad for that because she misses her cat a lot! The thoughtless part of it is that it costs $200 a day to take her out of the nursing home for overnights, and this will seriously put a cramp on her holiday time! What with Thanksgiving and Christmas coming in less than 60 days! She really doesn’t have the money to go visiting on overnights—so even thought it’s none of my business, I still wonder how my ex is going to pay for it. He’s never been one to save money of any kind for such purposes, and I hope that he doesn’t expect his poor mother or the rest of the family to pay for his thoughtlessness.

On a good note:Our house is getting new facings—or a face lift, if you will. Soon, we’ll get new gutters. So far, the house looks quite nice. The new gutters will complete the outside the house repairs. From there, we’re going to work on the INSIDE again—this time, the downstairs. There is a ton of work to be done down there, along with a bunch of things to be “tossed out”. My old computer is down there, and all of my fabric and sewing supplies…along with 3 sewing machines. One is a treadle, one is a featherweight and one is a Montgomery Ward heavy duty cog machine with several elaborate stitches which are made by switching the cog in the top of the machine. In short, working on the downstairs is going to be a major effort, and not one that I’m looking forward to. There are still many small jobs that could be completed upstairs…for instance staining the bay window—but that’s another story.